Why can’t I find a ticket to Nakhchivan? No land border is opened, no additional flights …
The turn of the Azerbaijani citizen, who said he had been waiting in line for hours, was between 650-700. Another person regretted that he could not get a ticket, although he was able to get in faster because he was given the 550th place.
“I can go to Nakhchivan once a year, because tickets are expensive. Even now they say there are no tickets. We were told not to approach the office tomorrow, go and buy it yourself. ” If I don’t have a ticket, how can I get a ticket online? ” – says our contestant.
He also complains about the increase in ticket prices:
“We are going as a family. It costs 500-600 manats. Where do I get that much money? There are many. We used to take 50 manats by force, but now they have increased it to 60 manats, ”said the citizen.
On June 7, the ticket price for Azerbaijani citizens on flights between Baku and Nakhchivan was 60 manat, AZAL said. Until then, you could buy a ticket for 50 manat.
The reason for the price increase was the reduction of the discount for the Baku-Nakhchivan and Nakhchivan-Baku air routes from June 6 to 20 manat, according to the rules approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
The discount remains in force for Azerbaijani citizens in the special category, and the ticket for them is 50 manat. For foreigners, the price remains unchanged: 70 manat.
“The only way is from Nakhchivan. He is like that “
A 20-year-old resident of Nakhchivan and a student studying in Baku, who came out of the sales office, looks tense. He is also one of those who could not get a ticket: “I asked for a ticket on the 22nd of the month and they said no. Then they said go and look online. I’ve always received it. Now I do not know how to buy online? Let’s see who can buy me a ticket online. “
The student, who said he visited his family in Nakhchivan twice a year, also complained about ticket prices.
“It simply came to our notice then. Of course, it is difficult. My parents buy my ticket. They cut something so that they could buy me a ticket so that I could go home, ”said the student.
Speaking to the BBC, one of the students recalls that she had a similar situation a couple of years ago. According to him, it was difficult to find tickets to Nakhchivan because students studying in Baku returned home in the summer, and now, moreover, those who use Nakhchivan as a transit have increased demand.
Among those trying to buy a ticket is a woman who is married to a Turkish citizen. She says she often has to go to Turkey because of her husband:
“Therefore, we are going through Nakhchivan to make it cheaper. If they open the roads, we will leave Georgia by car. Flying from Baku is also very expensive. The only way is from Nakhchivan. That’s the way it is. “
Turkey: “The number of visitors from Nakhchivan has increased”
Azerbaijan has closed its land borders with neighboring countries since the outbreak of the Jovid-19 pandemic. At present, it is possible to enter and exit the country by land only from the Sadarak-Diluju (Nakhchivan-Igdir) border checkpoint.
The Diluju checkpoint told the BBC that the number of people using the checkpoint had exceeded 2,000 in June.
Comparing the current figures with those of early January, the station official said that in those days, entry and exit were “around 500.”
“There are complaints about the sale of tickets to tourism companies”
MP Fazil Mustafa told BBC News in Azerbaijani that the shortage of tickets to Nakhchivan was due to “artificial price increases” and “artificial sale of tickets to tourism companies.”
“It simply came to our notice then. But you can buy a ticket a month later. And now they have stopped selling tickets online. There are a lot of people who can’t buy tickets online. There are pensioners, poor people, there is a problem with the Internet. That is why there is a great difficulty in this issue. “
AZAL spokesman Pasha Kasamansky told the BBC that the information about the sale of tickets by his company to tourism companies was “incorrect”.
Fazil Mustafa believes that the number of planes should be increased to eliminate the problem. According to him, the high price of tickets from Baku to Turkey also exacerbates the problem.
“The high cost of air tickets to other countries, especially Turkey, forces everyone to come via Nakhchivan via Igdir. In other words, the local population suffers from the large number of people who use the planes for other purposes. Can’t find a ticket. This problem is directly related to AZAL’s price increase. As you know, air ticket prices in Azerbaijan are several times higher than in other neighboring countries.
Fazil Mustafa says that there is no satisfactory answer to their question from AZAL: “There is no satisfactory answer, and in fact there is no responsibility. We will demand that these bodies act more responsibly towards the citizen. “
Fazil Mustafa says that one of the main reasons why these problems are more prominent is the lack of opening of roads: “If the road is opened, there will not be so much tension.”
He stressed that the effects of the pandemic have been reduced, that there is no danger, and hopes that the land borders will be opened next month.
The Azerbaijani government has extended the quarantine regime until July 1 due to the pandemic. Although many restrictions have been lifted in this regime, the land borders are still closed, except for Nakhchivan-Turkey.
How to buy tickets after that?
On Thursday, Azerbaijan Airlines announced that “all passengers traveling from Baku to Nakhchivan and back will be able to buy tickets on the airline’s official website – www.azal.az.”
The company attributed the decision to “reducing the long queues at the ticket offices of AZAL, as well as helping passengers to facilitate the process of registration of air tickets.”
“Visa and MasterCard international payment cards of any bank are accepted for payment when purchasing tickets. If another person’s bank card is used during payment, a copy of the cardholder’s ID card, as well as a copy of the front side of the card will be required at check-in at the airport.
AZAL also said that discounts are provided for “disabled children under 18 years of age, students, as well as disabled people of groups I and II.”
AZAL spokesman Pasha Kasamansky said that passengers in these categories can get discounted tickets only at the airports of Baku and Nakhchivan by submitting the relevant documents from the official ticket offices of the airline. (BBC)